Ratings

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While the Seven Network has completed an astonishing turnaround
in the first four weeks of the 2005 ratings season, and has had
more viewers nationally than any other network since early
February, Melbourne is staying loyal to Channel Nine, where it
pipped Seven for the fourth consecutive week. Nine attracted more
viewers overall in Melbourne but, even more important, won in the
key 25-to-54 and 16-to-39 age groups.

The contest for teenage and young adult viewers - those 16 to 39
- is fierce this year. In recent years, Channel Ten has claimed
them as its own, targeting its entire program line-up primarily at
the under-40s and gener-ally winning with hit shows such as Big
Brother and Australian Idol. But with unimpressive
figures for The X Factor on Sunday and Monday nights,
Ten's hold is slipping. Last week Nine had 32.2 per cent of viewers
aged 16 to 39 in Melbourne. Ten had 29.8.

The big winner, however, is Seven. Nationally last week it tied
with Nine for top spot in the overall ratings, and in Melbourne was
less than one percentage point behind Nine. Seven's Desperate
Housewives, Lost and Dancing with the Stars were the
week's top shows. In Melbourne, Desperate Housewives had
almost a quarter of a million more viewers than Nine's most-watched
program for the week, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Overall, Nine had 28.8 per cent of night-time viewers in
Melbourne last week, followed by Seven (28.1), Ten (21.9), ABC
(16.6) and SBS (4.6). The ratings scenario is likely to change
slightly in coming weeks as the start of the AFL season boosts
Nine's and Ten's figures, particularly on Friday and Saturday
nights in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. And the end of daylight
saving is likely to result in more young viewers switching on
earlier in the evening, probably adding to Ten's weeknight
figures.

Seven continues to perform poorly, however, in some key
timeslots. In Melbourne its 6pm news continues to lose to Nine's
program, although its figures were up slightly last week, and
Blue Heelers and All Saints remain well below
their peaks of several years ago.

The new series of My Restaurant Rules, screening on
Thursdays and Sundays, is also rating well below expectations.

Another casualty is ER, one of Nine's top shows in the
past five years, now the 20th most-watched show nationally thanks
to Seven's Lost. Its Dancing with the Stars also
holds viewers on Tuesday nights, particularly older viewers,
poaching an audience from the ABC's reliable performer The
Bill.